HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	339
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the counties to revise their real property tax assessment systems to minimize the impact of real property taxes on taro farmers in the STate.

     WHEREAS, Kalo, the Hawaiian word for taro, is a culturally significant plant to the kanaka maoli or Hawaii's indigenous people; and

     WHEREAS, Kalo intrinsically embodies the interdependency of the past, present, future, and the essence of procreation and regeneration; and

     WHEREAS, Kalo expresses the spiritual and physical well-being of not only the kanaka maoli and their heritage, but also symbolizes the environmental, social, and cultural values important to the State; and

     WHEREAS, Kalo is an important food crop in Hawaii and most locally-grown taro is consumed within the State, indicating a highly specialized market; and

     WHEREAS, historically, there were thousands of acres under taro cultivation in Hawaii, but today, there remain less than five hundred acres of taro in production; and

     WHEREAS, as an indigenous crop to Hawaii, taro is a ready source of locally grown food that provides food security for the State by easing Hawaii's dependence on imported food; and

     WHEREAS, taro cultivation also presents opportunities for job creation and community economic development; and

     WHEREAS, taro's unique place in Hawaii's history and culture make it an educational tool for Hawaii's youth, providing a way to learn about Hawaiian culture as well as to develop valuable agricultural and job skills; and

     WHEREAS, taro farmers are faced with rising property tax rates as adjacent property owners develop their property with expensive residential homes and other commercial development projects; and

     WHEREAS, the rising property tax rates threaten their very livelihood and the future of taro farming in the State; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the counties are requested to revise their real property tax assessment systems to minimize the impact of real property taxes on taro farmers in the State; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the counties are requested to consider allowing taro farmers to dedicate their land for agricultural purposes as other farmers have done in the past; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor and the Chairperson of the Council of each county.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Taro; Real Property Tax